Samの英語チャンネル

Is the world ready for a Goku or Luffy virtual YouTuber?

There’s no question that VTubers are exploding in popularity all over the world, and especially in Japan. Here, you can run into official VTuber merchandise at convenience stores, and people flock to donate blood when commanded to by one.

Seeing their popularity, some companies have started thinking about expanding into the VTuber realm as well, and apparently that includes Shonen Jump.

Here’s a survey from their recent issue, posted by Twitter user @seikisidan2985, asking what their readers think about all things VTubers:

▼ The top asks what kind of general articles readers are interested in,
but then it gets much more specific. (Translation below)

ジャンプのアンケートにVtuberの質問出てきた！
選べねぇ….(笑) pic.twitter.com/P3lPtXEcP3

— mattun_sei (@seikisidan2985) March 5, 2021

❶ How often do you watch virtual YouTubers?

1. Often
2. Sometimes
3. Rarely
4. I’ve heard of them but haven’t watched
5. I don’t know what they are

❷ If you answered 1-2 in the previous question, who are your favorite virtual YouTubers? (Pick up to 3)

1. Kizuna Ai
2. Gawr Gura
3. Lize Helesta
4. Oozora Subaru
5. Usada Pekora
6. Mori Calliope
7. Houshou Marin
8. Minato Aqua
9. Akai Haato
10. Takanashi Kiara
11. Mirai Akari
12. Kaguya Luna
13. Uruha Rushia
14. Sakura Miko
15. Anju Katrina
16. Tokino Sora
17. Shirakami Fubuki
18. Shiragane Noel
19. Inugami Korone
20. Kaf
21. Honma Himawari
22. Higuchi Kaede
23. Hoshimachi Suisei
24. Dennou Shojo Siro
25. Shiina Yuika
26. Amane Kanata
27. Kuzuha
28. Kiryuu Coco
29. Tsukino Mito
30. Yukihana Lamy
31. Roboco-san
32. Sasaki Saku
33. Otogibara Era
34. Suzuhara Lulu

❸ If you answered 1-3 in the first question, would you watch a Shonen Jump virtual YouTuber?

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1. Definitely
2. If they’re cute
3. If they’re cool
4. If they’re funny/interesting
5. Depends on what they do
6. No

❹ If you answered 1-5 in the previous question, what would you want to watch them do?

1. Play games
2. Just chat
3. Show off stories/creations
4. Burst into the editing department
5. Burst into artists/authors
6. Undercover in production locations
7. Sing
8. Other

Dang, that’s a pretty exhaustive questionnaire! Not only are there a whopping 34 VTubers to choose from, but there’s a huge variety of them, from gamers to singers to comedians to even ones like Gawr Gura, who speaks almost exclusively in English.

And they don’t make their intentions subtle either: question 3 outright asks readers if they’d be interested in a Shonen Jump VTuber. They’re clearly trying to figure out what kind of content would work best for their readership, but how much of an overlap is there between Shonen Jump readers and VTuber watchers? Perhaps we’ll find out in the near future.

Japanese netizens had a lot to say on the survey, though to be fair many of the replies were those lamenting over their personal favorite VTubers not being on the list:

“Huh? Where’s Okayu? lol”
“They didn’t have space for Mio mama….”
“No Matsuri. Jump, this means war.”
“Can you just put ‘ALL’ in the three boxes?”
“Incredible. This is truly the era of VTubers.”
“Kuzuha is the only man on the list lol.”

▼ Someone pointed out that Jump asked readers about VTubers back in 2018, but only who their favorites were. Kizuna Ai, Luna, Akari, and Siro are among the few on both lists.

ここで2018年10月15日のジャンプのアンケートを見てみましょう pic.twitter.com/awCMsm7xak

— すきやき (@sukiya3ki) March 5, 2021

So what does this mean? Will we be getting a Nezuko, Nami, or Ochako VTuber at some point? Or who knows, maybe they’ll use one of their top beautiful male characters instead to drive up the number of dude VTubers.

Either way, if it gets a cute/cool anime character to read us some fresh Shonen Jump manga each week, we’re sure plenty of viewers will be down for it.

Source: Twitter/@seikisidan2985 via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso (Edited by SoraNews24)
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Source: SORA NEWS24